clockdrfla
Well-known member
Some black tanks have a clean and flush procedure by connecting a hose. Does this procedure give decent cleaning results? Would there be any reason to also use a flush wand?
I want to make sure that poop pyramids don't develop. I'm currently dumping about every two weeks, rinsing with black tank hose connection, rinse about 5 minutes, put about 5 gallons water in black tank. Should I be doing any thing else? Any additives needed in tank to break down waste or to deodorize?Gary RV_Wizard said:Not really. Either one is just a rinse and not very effective at "cleaning" anyway. If you dumper from a tank was 3/4 or more full, the follow-up rinse probably adds little to the process.
clockdrfla said:I want to make sure that poop pyramids don't develop. I'm currently dumping about every two weeks, rinsing with black tank hose connection, rinse about 5 minutes, put about 5 gallons water in black tank. Should I be doing any thing else? Any additives needed in tank to break down waste or to deodorize?
Gizmo said:What Gary said was my experience as well. I used the black tank hose connection to fill the tank with little to no expectation of cleaning the tank by itself What I found to be the most effective method, was to do the initial dump with no less than 2/3 full, followed by at least 3-cycles of fill the tank and dump. To do this you will want a clear elbow attachment to determine when the solids have left the tank. Usually on the third cycle the tank drained clear from start to finish, on occasion, I had to go to a 4th.
RedandSilver said:Only thing about waiting til it's either 2/3 or 3/4 fill and then dumping is it's a guessing game as to when those amounts happen.
We all know that many RV's have poor level monitoring abilities and are inaccurate at best - as they come from the factory.
Maybe new RV's are more accurate for awhile or they have improved the level monitors - but most older units will play the guessing game.
Only thing about waiting til it's either 2/3 or 3/4 fill and then dumping is it's a guessing game as to when those amounts happen.
Gizmo said:Unless you only have a 10-gallon black tank, only addig 5 or so gallons will not dis-loge or rinse out any solids adhering to the upper levels of the tank.
Rene T said:I can't imagine anything sticking to the top of the tank but I suppose it could. If there's anything left in the tank, it should be sitting on the bottom. Gravity should prevail.. The 5 gallons of water is not used to dislodge anything. It's used to continue the breaking down action. I know that driving around on the roads here in NH, 5 gallons of water will slosh around wetting all the inside surfaces of the tank.
IMHO, $45.00 for 64 treatments is a waste of money.
https://www.amazon.com/Happy-Campers-Organic-Holding-Treatment/dp/B007S0LDME/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1505094693&sr=8-1&keywords=happy+camper+rv+tank+treatment
Gizmo said:My experience indicates otherwise. When we first started RV'ing with a black tank. I did what is being suggested here dump when 2/3rd's+ full, then fill just a few gallons and dump again and no treatment chemicals. After the 2nd or 3rd dump of just a few gallons the tank water ran clear, no solids observed. Great job done, or so I thought. Then after a couple trips we began to get an odor in the TT emanating from the toilet, so I added one of the popular chemicals promising to eliminate odor, better but still present. That is when I stated filling the tank till full for the 2nd & third dumps and was seeing solids in the waste water. It was not until I reached my 5th dump that the waste water ran clear from start to finish and the odor was eliminated. Continuing to fill the tank for successive dumps and watching for the point at which the waste water ran clear from start to finish, We never experienced black tank odor after that. After some time and after hearing several positive reports on Happy Camper, we tried some and as we were no longer having an odor problem, I cannot speak to it's solving odor, but what I noticed, is when I did use it, the solids were considerably smaller and instead of 3-5 successive dumps, I was getting the job done in 2-3 dumps. I suspect Happy Camper was indeed breaking down the solid waste, making the process more efficient. Happy Camper was, if not the least expensive tank additive at the time, roughly .50-.70 per treatment, considering the real results we were seeing in the breakdown of the solids, it was worth it to us to use.
Gizmo said:My experience indicates otherwise. When we first started RV'ing with a black tank. I did what is being suggested here dump when 2/3rd's+ full, then fill just a few gallons and dump again and no treatment chemicals.